Blather, rinse, repeat

Gacked from skitty_kitty, The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome.

This article is outrageous – it describes atrocities done to animals by bored, violent, sick people. And when people read it, they get upset. More than upset; I fully expect people to be disgusted, and disturbed by this. The entire article is disturbing. The descriptions are very graphic. And the tone of the article is--rightly--moral outrage. How can people be so cruel? Towards the end, she goes into the idea of neurology, and where human empathy fits into this.

Lots of people are going to read that article and nod their heads. "Yup, that's sick. I hate animal cruelty. I'd never stand for a thing like that. People who do that should burn. Oh, but this is all right. And this. And this. And all of these. Because I need my cosmetics. Oh, and this is fine, because I likes me some KFC. And this, because cows are yummy!"

Seriously. If you're gonna read the article and get all indignant and outraged, I get that. Animal abuse is gross, it should make you sick. But how come the rest of it doesn't? Why is it sick when random people do it, but perfectly fine when it's because you enjoy your KFC, or your L'oreal? What makes it all right then? Why don't people show the same kind of "TSK! What kind of person!" when it comes to those situations?

How come there are no "empathy" questions when it comes to people who can torment a lab animal for months on end, or slaughter a cow or something?

These are times when I really, really don't understand people.

I also realize that this might upset some people. But, why does it upset you? I really don't understand what separates cruelty in labs and slaughterhouses from cruelty on the streets.

So, I couldn't sleep last night. Every time I would close my eyes I would get an image of that guy stomping on that little pig and it was infuriating me. You just know that someone only does that to animals because they want so badly to do it to humans and they know they can't. So I just lay awake in my bed thinking, Who was that guy? Where is he now? Did he ever get some kind of retribution? Or did he just go on to his next job at another slaughterhouse? I thought of all the people who are paying his salary.

And, I just wanted to murder him. Like, I wanted to rip his face off with my nails. I hope he got swine flu and died a lingering death or something. I wish for someone like Count D to sell him some kind of murderous pet who's going to rip his intestines out and eat them while he's still alive.

When I finally did get to sleep I had a dream the Sorcerer Hunters were chasing him and couldn't catch up to him.

Today I bought a lottery ticket. The lady at the counter told me that the MegaMillions was already gone, someone won it yesterday and it was down to a measly 37 million. I was like, "Jeez, I'd take it." She said, "Anything else?" and I told her, "Can you get me a winning ticket?" What a waste of money. I don't know why I do it other than that I still have these elaborate fantasies of what sort of home (and, yeah, garden,) I would have with 30 million dollars. All solar and organic! And a salinated pool. And to be able to pay off my parents' house so they would never have to worry, and my cousins' house and my aunt and uncle, and then to send all my cousins to college so that they would never have to worry. For the rest of their lives they could do as they pleased. And I'd buy fuel efficient cars with the highest safety ratings for everyone. Some more aviaries, and a nice little studio. Oh, man. Such elaborate fantasies I have. I think that everyone knows what they'd do with lottery money, right? We all think about it. ^_^

Then I went to Wild By Nature to by a chocolate bar and there was this free promotional thing going on with some guy giving people a stress test, and he asked me if I wanted one. I told him, No thanks, and no sooner had I said that than the fire alarm went off. The guy behind the deli counter got startled and waved both his arms in the air spastically and I just started laughing. I said to the stress test guy, "You sure picked the right day to be here" and he laughed and said, "Should I take everyone's blood pressure now?" Then the nice dude who I think is the manager was going by and I asked, "Do we have to leave?" and he said yes, everyone had to evacuate the store. I didn't get my chocolate bar, but let me tell you, if I had been one of those people with a full cart of groceries and I had to leave, I'd be pretty miffed.

Umm, so remember I was babbling about that beautiful cherry tree yesterday, well I bought it. I'm waiting for it to be delivered. I'd like to thank my ex boss, Dr. Dickwhistle, because it was on my hefty unemployment card. Actually, every time I use that card (which I do all the time, not the least of which is for weekly groceries,) I want to thank him. But to thank him in that needling way, like, "Wow, you just totally paid for this awesome thing, and I haven't worked for you in a year. Isn't it fun that you're still paying my bills, douchenozzlehead?" And it's not as if I haven't been looking for work, because remember, I actually had that one job that was supposed to begin Thursday, but obviously tha got canceled. >_< I fill out applications everywhere, but in this economy, no one is hiring. So, Dickwhistle is still paying my way. Aww. ;)

It's raining a straight up bitch and will continue to do so all week, apparently. I'll take pictures of my new pretty tree once I have it planted. ^_^

Today was a bad day for animals at the hospital.

First thing after we finished up in the morning, a beautiful raccoon fell about fifteen feet from a tree it had randomly climbed. Raccoons out in the daytime, this does not bode well to begin with. But there was something obviously wrong with the dude, you could see it as soon as he was able to stand. He was wobbling all around and dragging his feet; it was probably distemper rather than rabies. We spent the better part of the morning chasing him around--the poor thing was terrified--before finally catching him with the rabies pole and euthanizing him. (It was Jenn J. who finally nabbed him.) I felt so awful that his last moments were so scary.

Then at the end of the day, some people brought in a rooster whose leg had been broken by a couple of kids who were torturing it. They had already killed one chicken, and were just having fun with this one. I don't know how old they are. But the cops said they couldn't do anything because chickens aren't domestic; they are just livestock and are not protected.

Okay, even aside from the poor rooster, whose leg is totally broken, umm, these kids? Isn't cruelty to animals one of the surest signs that you're going to grow up to be some kind of serial killer? Doesn't anyone think that, I don't know, the parents may be concerned about this or something? Oh my god, it was so upsetting.

And of course during the day, I had to keep myself from pulling my hair out, as I do every Friday. Honest to god, how hard could it be to just do the simple things you are asked to do? And to not create more work for everyone else? That's all I'm going to say. I'm done.

Tomorrow we're starting up Hula rehearsals again for the first time in about a month and a half. Then after I go grocery shopping, I'm going to give Boychild his Easter gifties and then I'll get started working on putting up Springtime lights and the Trisky sculpture.

By the way, it is as cold as brass balls in a freezer today. Hi, SPRING? Get going.

When they do that ridiculously cruel "running of the bulls" thing in Pamplona each year... Am I the only one here who roots for the bull? Am I the only one here who watches a video of that and cringes when they are all tormenting the poor animal, but outright cheers when the stupid bastards get what they deserve and get gored? I'm sorry, but if you're stupid and cruel enough to partake in something like that, I really want the bull to win. The only downside to that is that animals almost always get killed for acting in the way that's only natural to them.

I hate people.

Anyway, today at work was mad, mad, mad, frustrating, rushed, booked solid, one of those "holy hell how did we make it through the day and walk out on two legs at 5?" kinds of things.

My car is back from the shop, to the tune of just under a thousand dollars this time. They said it was the distributor or something like that, how the hell am I supposed to know, I have a vagina and I don't get these car-ish things. /ironic stereotype (And it is ironic because I'm not typically your girly-girl. But the unfortunate truth is that I really don't know carlike stuff, and I should. I just can't fit the time to learn about it in my life.)

Lohi'au is developing pox all over, there was one on his wing the other day and now there's one on his ankle. The little dude is so compromised by this virus. (Little, ha, he's freaking HUGE now. If I could get the spit to actually upload my pics you could see, but alas that will have to wait another few days.) Bosslady at SITF told me about a few good herbal extracts to fight this virus, then my friend Laura--you know, Crowlady?-- clued me in to another. I will have to swing by my hippie-nature store tomorrow and pick those up during my EPIC shopping day.

I will have an EPIC shopping day tomorrow for the party on Sunday, so it's not going to be the fun kind of retail therapy, but rather all stuff I need to buy while I'm stressing about getting the house clean enough to be presentable.

And then of course it's supposed to rain Sunday. Wouldn't you know? Can I please just make a deal with the weather gods? >_> GAH!

I'm blog-spamming today; sorry about that. But I just got a link to this site from a forum I frequent and I wanted to share it. I wish everyone would take a look at it.

Top 25 Censored Stories of 2007.

I'll just quote the headers to each of them; I know that some of them will mean something to pretty much everyone on my f-list. Some of these I knew about and tried to follow, but many of them were a huge shock to me.


#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media

#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran (Halliburton is DIck Cheney's company, for those who might not know. This is one of the ones I actually knew about and tried to keep up with.)

#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger (We're really feeling this everywhere, whether we know it or not. Call me a tree-hugger hippie or whatever, but this is all holistic. You have to know that.)

#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US

#5 High-Tech Genocide in Congo (This is a new one on me. Holy crap. A short summary: The world’s most neglected emergency, according to the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, is the ongoing tragedy of the Congo, where six to seven million have died since 1996 as a consequence of invasions and wars sponsored by western powers trying to gain control of the region’s mineral wealth. At stake is control of natural resources that are sought by U.S. corporations—diamonds, tin, copper, gold, and more significantly, coltan and niobium, two minerals necessary for production of cell phones and other high-tech electronics; and cobalt, an element essential to nuclear, chemical, aerospace, and defense industries.)

#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy (pecial Counsel Scott Bloch, appointed by President Bush in 2004, is overseeing the virtual elimination of federal whistleblower rights in the U.S. government. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the agency that is supposed to protect federal employees who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse is dismissing hundreds of cases while advancing almost none.)

# 7 US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq (Not a huge shock though, is it?)

#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act (Also not a huge surprise, though it doesn't make me any less angry.)

#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall (I'd heard references to this but didn't know what it was about. Well, now I do.)

#10 Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians (You don't say?)

#11 Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed (Good to know. I try to keep to small, organic companies for produce anyway, but now I know to be more aware.)

#12 Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines (The Bush administration plans to resume production of antipersonnel landmine systems in a move that is at odds with both the international community and previous U.S. policy, according to the leading human rights organization, Human Rights Watch (HRW).)

#13 New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup (Roundup the weed killer, that is. A HUGE problem for me: people with perfect lawns and gardens. Plant a garden, weed by hand, fertilize organically. It's not rocket science.)

#14 Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US (Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR (formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root) announced on January 24, 2006 that it had been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps in the United States.)

#15 Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research program is increasingly relying on corporate joint ventures, according to agency documents obtained by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The American Chemical Council (ACC) is now EPA’s leading research partner and the EPA is diverting funds from basic health and environmental research towards research that addresses regulatory concerns of corporate funders. Since the beginning of Bush’s first term in office, there has been a significant increase in cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with individual corporations or industry associations. During Bush’s first four years EPA entered into fifty-seven corporate CRADAs, compared to thirty-four such agreements during Clinton’s second term.

#16 Ecuador and Mexico Defy US on International Criminal Court

#17 Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda (Ya think?)

#18 Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story (In debunking the official explanation of the collapse of the three WTC buildings, Jones cites the complete, rapid, and symmetrical collapse of the buildings; the horizontal explosions (squibs) evidenced in films of the collapses; the fact that the antenna dropped first in the North Tower, suggesting the use of explosives in the core columns; and the large pools of molten metal observed in the basement areas of both towers. I'd like to quote this whole thing, but I won't. Just read if for yourselves. Get whatever you get out of it. I'm going to find it harder to sleep, though.)

#19 Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever

#20 Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem (This is news to me, as I live on bottled water. “There is no question that clean, affordable drinking water is essential to the health of our global community,” Arnold asserts, “But bottled water is not the answer in the developed world, nor does it solve problems for the 1.1 billion people who lack a secure water supply. Improving and expanding existing water treatment and sanitation systems is more likely to provide safe and sustainable sources of water over the long term.” But until then?)

#21 Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers (Shoots, and I wear a gold necklace. O_o )

#22 $Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed (Huh, I guess a lot of it goes towards fingerprinting prospective adoptive parents who have already been fingerprinted, to the tune of almost a thousand dollars. Ne'mind, don't ask.)

#23 US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe (Lobbyists funded by the U.S. oil industry have launched a campaign in Europe aimed at derailing efforts to tackle greenhouse gas pollution and climate change.)

#24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year (Tired of hearing about Halliburton yet?)

#25 US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region (Gosh, isn't it, like, bad to say things about the military that don't contain the words "support" and "troops"?)

And in the same vein, lookie here: a handy-dandy COMPANIES TO BOYCOTT list. USE AT YOUR OWN DESCRETION. (Shoots, man, MICROSOFT? I guess my next computer will be Apple, then.)

EDIT: This is now a meme. ^_^

Actually, faire_damsel has inspired me. See? She's good for something once in a while.

Instead of people throwing their spare cash at someone who drinks Starbucks all the time and fills her life with frilly pink things, how about we all give to, or promote some true charities.

Rose "Chief Grand Cherokee" has made a mockery of Native America and the horror of rape. (How ROMANTIC that her ancestors were INJUNS who stole a White Woman and raped her till she fell in love with them!) With Winter Rose and all of the other privileged wannabes who think that buying a dreamcather makes you "spiritual" in mind, how about the Adopt an Elder program. This is one that I'll be doing.

Winter Rose has also said that she thinks it would be romantic for her to get tuberculosis. Yeah? Ask the people who have it, you dumb bint. Instead of giving spare cash to this moron who thinks that suffering is pretty and cute, why not use it instead for the people who truly do suffer from it: donate to TB alert.

Winter Rose goes on at length about her hair color and the makeup she uses and the "prettiful" cosmetics that--yes, I actually had this "conversation" with her once--are most often tested on animals. So instead of giving that money to this whiney bint so she can go and be a fool in Ireland, why not shell out to the Humane Society. I give to this one when I can, too. (Incidentally, there is an alert on there that Ben and Jerry's uses eggs from caged hens for their ice cream. DRAT! You all know how I love my Ben and Jerry's! But now, no more Karmel Sutra or Phish Food for me until this practice ends. >_> )

Not that this has necessarily anything to do with Rose--other than she probably doesn't care about stuff like this--but the Multiple Myeloma charity is one that is dear to me.

Duh, how could I forget LIFEbeat. This is the charity that 30STM is sponsering in that concert I'm going to next week. I might not have heard of this one if not for them. A bunch of us who are going to the show are each going to make an extra donation (all ticket sales go to this charity also) in the name of the band. Keep in mind, though, LIFEbeat is controversial.

Those are just my personal favorites. Here is a Charity Navigator so that, no matter which cuase you choose to support or further--and I'm sure you've all got a ton of your own outside of the ones I linked--you can see where your money is going. There are countless others: food for the homeless, people who lost their livelihoods in the Katrina Flood, the war, all of these other things that people like Winter Rose, whose shameless begging is just "But I want to go to IIIIIIIIreland!!!!!" need never think about. Guess what? I want to go to Ireland, too. I want to bring my Gran there, because she's always wanted to visit the county where her father was born. Maybe someday we will both get to go, if I put some money away instead of, you know, buying Ben and Jerry's every few weeks. But until then, damned if I will beg, or even ask anyone to make that dream come true for me.

Rose has got me angry this time. But instead of dwelling on it, I want to turn it into something good. Rose will never allow a comment like this in her LJ, but please, if anyone out there knows anyone on her f-list that is thinking about sending her their money, please tell them these things. Try to tell them that, even though they can do whatever they want with their spare change, how much better it would be to give it to someone who needs it. Rose will never understand this, and comments like this would never be allowed. But I'm sure soemone out there knows someone who knows her. Spread the word.

So this is now a Charity Meme. (Rose would call it a "MeMe", how typical of her. But hey, guess what? These charites have nothing to do with HerHer! ;D ) If you like the idea, then on your own LJ, respond with some links to your favorite charites. Maybe we could get a chain going and we could all learn about charities and causes of which we were previously unaware.

Ooooh, I bought some clothes on clearance today. There was a spring jacket that I wanted a few months ago for $40 that made me say "whoa," but today I nabbed it for $12. Holy crap. And some much-needed pants for like 5 bucks each. Low-riding cargo pants, because I can biotch. And I did something I haven't done in many years: looked at bikinis. And considered trying one on. But then I didn't, because A) I'm not mentally there yet, B) they were $35 each! and C) I'm always squicked about trying on bathing suits, even with underwear and those little protective things they put there. I mean, not everyone is going to be keeping their underwear on, right? And they never change that protective thing. Hygiene Queen says NO.

I got all of this at Target (that's pronounced "Tar-jhay") which is my favorite "I need things fast and cheap" store. I boycott Walmart. Actually, I've boycotted Walmart for a few years now, before I knew anything about their wages and sexist policies and stuff. The thing with the Hawaiian burial ground really got to me. That's when I started boycotting them.

Speaking of boycotts, this leads me to my meme: it's the Product Meme. I tag everyone.

Which products do you use, and why?

Let me answer the primary why for all of these so I don't have to repeat myself: Because they are not tested on animals. That's always my first consideration. None of these products are animal tested, and that is my main reason for chosing them.

Shampoo: Right now I'm into Lamas Beauty shampoo, because it doesn't contain sodium laurel / laureth sulfate. That's a detergent that is in most shampoos and is actually bad for your hair.
Conditioner: Aussie. It's a decent conditioner, fairly cheap.
Other hair products: For hair dye, I use either henna, or lately Herbatint. Herbatint is the only actual dye I can find aside from Revlon (which has limited dyes that aren't that good,) that isn't tested on animals. It's milder than most level 3s, and it lasts longer.
Facial soap: Kiss My Face or Dr. Bronner's. They are both pure soaps without much crap in them. Kiss My Face is scented, but that's about it.
Body soap: Same.
Toothpaste: Nature's Gate. I'll use Tom's of Maine in a pinch, though, but I like the company less than I like NG.
Other dental products: Generic floss, and tea tree oil mouthwash. I usually make my own.
Lip balm Burt's Bees. That balm is the bomb. Okay, bad pun.
Any body lotions or scrubs: I could list these forever. Better to list what I avoid (aside from the obvious.) I try to avoid anything with artificial colors or parabens in them, which is hard, because most lotions have parabens. Palmer's in the tub doesn't, though, and neither does Udderly Smooth. But usually I just make my own lotion, with raw shea butter (when I can get it,) olive oil, kukui nut oil, jojoba oil, and whatever essential oil I like at the time.
Any face lotions, tonics or other products: Same as above; I basically make my own. In that way, I'm a true kitchen witch. ^_^
Hand lotion: Queen Helene, or Bath and Body Works.
Any foot products: Same as other lotions.
Makeup: I don't tend to wear makeup, but I like the lip colors from Burt's Bees. If I need makeup, I usually just buy Revlon. But I also like Ecco Bella.
Scents or perfume: My most special and beloved scent is Maui Rain, but it is really expensive. I've had the same 1/8th of an ounce bottle since '02, and I only wear it on exceedingly special occasions. Other than that, I like Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's scent, Pele. That one really is lovely. Other times I'll just mix my own perfumes from whatever essential oils I have around the house.
Deoderant: Mitchum Solid during the day, and a deoderant crystal at night.
Other: I can't think of any others now, though I'm sure there are plenty.

Ah, and that's it for that meme. I've still got a ton of stuff to do and this was one of my ways of avoiding it. THREE MORE DAYS TILL DISNEY! (Okay, four, but I don't count the last day of waiting. ;D )

Cowardly moron hunter shoots other cowardly moron hunter.

And the thing that really makes this story the absolute bomb is that the shooter is our vice president.

My day is officially MADE.

( Full story for posterity )

It pisses me off that the Bush family and these Bushy people are all killers--doesn't surprise me, but still pisses me off--and so when they start shooting each other, it just brings a smile to my face. I have to make light of it, because the reality is really scary: these are the brain surgeons who are running the country.

(I probably shouldn't laugh too hard in public, though; I had a dream last night that the secret service came to my house. O_o )